3) Amanda's Kickstarter project has over 20,000 backers, and is just under the $1 million mark.

Now it's true that Amanda has certain advantages, like half a million Twitter followers, but there's nothing preventing other musicians from emulating her example. (Except for marrying Neil Gaiman; I'm pretty sure there's only one of him)

And the interesting thing is that despite her Twitter fame and semi-celebrity, I'm pretty sure she got a lot more out Kickstarter than she would have from a record label.

So if you don't need a record label to finance an album, produce the music, distribute the videos, or sell the tickets, what exactly do musicians need them for?

The fans have always been the ultimate source of money for the music ecosystem; musicians finally have the tools to let them tap that source directly.

5 comments:

I was super excited about music crowdfunding in 2006. There was a really solid entrant with good design, an active community, solid funding. I don't think they succeeded and I can't even remember their name.